Wereshark
Origins The Wereshark is one of a race of creatures with origins in the mythology, legend and folklore of numerous different lands. In particular, accounts of its existence are first recorded in stories from Coastal West Africa, Java (part of Indonesia, in Southeast Asia), Fiji (part of Melanesia in Oceania) and Tonga (Oceania), as well as Hawaii (United States). Among these, Hawaii has a specific mythos in which some 'shark people' were servants of the shark god Kauhuhu, while another wereshark was the son of another divine shark patriarch, Kamohoalii, and a mortal woman, Kalei. Kamohoalii first spotted Kalei while he was in shark form, as the girl swam in the ocean. Later appearing to her in the form of a divinely handsome man, he wooed her, won her heart, and eventually won her hand in marriage. All the while, the truth was never revealed about Kamohoalii's divine nature. Shortly after the two were wed, it was discovered that Kalei was pregnant with Kamohoalii's son. At that time, he announced that he had to go on a long journey, and that he would never see his beloved wife again. Before departing, though, he would leave his wife with strict instructions about the care of their coming son. Kalei was told that her son's body would be somehow unusual, and that she must hide his odd body feature from sight at all times. And most important of all, he must never be allowed to eat meat. Though, the instructions were not easily met. While the first part of his life allowed his mother to easily conceal the concave dip in her son Nanaue's back, such became much more difficult as he grew up. As Nanaue got older, the dip grew wider and deeper, even growing little toothy projections, so that it looked like a shark's mouth. He even began to feed the mouthlike aperture birds, fish and other small animals. And whenever he went into the water to swim, he would turn into a full-fledged shark, swimming out far to gorge himself on whatever food he could find. Before long, his birthday would come around again, this time marking that he'd reached the age of adulthood. This would be celebrated with a great, hearty feast. Though, the banquet that the village men were sure would stuff the boy enough to last him into the next day, turned out to barely whet his appetite. His hunger was ravenous, and insatiable; worse yet, the more he ate, the more his features grew to resemble his divine father's true shark-like nature. Though, the worst was yet to come. Some time later, in the midst of doing seasonal work, Nanaue's kapa cloak was torn off, revealing the shark-mouth indent in his back. Seeing Nanaue as a monster, the villagers attacked. Merely defending himself, he was able to break bones, rend limbs and shatter skulls. Despite this, the overwhelming force of the villagers would soon prove sufficient to take down the overwhelming force of the wereshark. He would eventually escape captivity, but only to be recaptured some time later, and this time, killed. Appearance A wereshark's base form is that of the humanoid creature bitten. If a human is bitten by a wereshark, he looks entirely human prior to transformation. If an Elf is bitten, his untransformed self looks like an Elf, and the like. As to the wereshark's transformed self, though, appearances vary a bit. Of course, the most obvious reason for this is because numerous different types of sharks exist in the world. In essence, each type of wereshark appears like an anthropomorphic version of its shark species; Wereshark species range from Great White Weresharks to Hammerhead or Mako Weresharks or Blacktip or even Whale Weresharks. Though, certain differences arise even within Weresharks of the same breed. Some have fingernails similar to ordinary humans, while others have monstrous claws. Some have webbing between their fingers and toes, while others do not. Some have their trademark shark fin on their back (ie traditional dorsal fin), while others have the fin closer to the lower neck, or on top of their heads.Some Weresharks even lack tails. And of course, their body shape varies, often in line with their pre-transformation body shape. A Wereshark may be lean, athletic, buff/ripped/muscular, husky/chunky or even fat (typically for Whale Weresharks). Behavior Weresharks tend to be fairly 'normal', relatively speaking, prior to transformation. Their temperament varies from one end of the personality spectrum to the other, untransformed. Often, any shark-like tendencies tend to be mild to moderate, and fairly easy to control. However, in the midst of the change, whether impending or in progress, temper begins to grow shorter. The wereshark becomes highly irritable, combative, aggressive and confrontational. Of course, appetite increases as well. Not to mention, Weresharks often begin to grow anxious in spaces considered too closed or cramped for their large frames. What's more, they develop a psychological aversion to moving backward. And an intense longing for the sea develops (specifically the sea; freshwater will do very little to help), which will only further increase irritability. Abilities Galeanthropy Weaknesses Category:Mythical Being Category:African Mythology, Legend and Folklore Category:Asian Mythology, Legend and Folklore Category:Southeast Asian Mythology, Legend and Folklore Category:Indonesian Mythology, Legend and Folklore Category:North American Mythology, Legend and Folklore Category:Oceanic/Polynesian Mythology, Legend and Folklore Category:Humanoid Category:Monstrous Humanoid Category:Shapeshifter Category:Therianthrope Category:Darkness/Shadow Category:Earth Category:Life/Death/Blood Category:Light Category:Mind/Spirit/Psychic Category:Time Category:W